Sherrill company founders show their Coffee Joulies on Shark Tank

A company whose products are manufactured at Sherrill Manufacturing appeared on an episode of "Shark Tank" Friday night on the ABC network.

Viewers were able to see business owners Dave Petrillo and Dave Jackson pitch their product, Coffee Joulies, to investors in order to gain their support during a rapid-fire 10 minute segment of the program.

The main focus of the pitch was this: A Coffee Joulie is an egg-sized product made of stainless steel and shaped like a coffee bean. The bean is filled with a special kind of wax, and when placed in a filled coffee cup, it cools hot coffee to a drinkable 140-degrees while trapping the excess warmth to prolong the drinking life of the beverage.

"Coffee will stay warm and drinkable for up to five hours," Petrillo told the Shark Tank investors, adding that the Joulies also work for tea, soup and even oatmeal.

Advertisement

Petrillo recommended one Joulie for every four ounces of coffee.

He added that he and Jackson have a design patent but did not develop the inside material.

The investors were told that Joulies cost $3.65 each to make. They are being sold 5 for $50, and Jackson and Petrillo hope to supply them to Bed, Bath & Beyond and other retail stores in the future.

When they finished their pitch, there was a lot of back and forth between the investors. One Shark questioned why a thermos was not a suitable alternative, to which Petrillo explained that thermoses keep beverages "too hot."

The Sharks also felt production costs were too high.

In the end, the investors offered the duo a deal of a $150,000 investment. Petrillo and Jackson will pay the investors back at a rate of $3 for each wholesale unit sold and $6 for each unit sold in a retail setting. After the $150,000 is repaid, they will pay the investors $1 for every unit sold.

This past week, area residents and staff at Sherrill Manufacturing were buzzing about the upcoming television program.

"It's a way to get their name out there," said Matt Roberts, president and CEO of Sherrill Manufacturing. The company that started making Coffee Joulies about a year ago, Roberts said. "It's brought jobs to the area."

For those that missed the episode, it will be available within the week on: